Giuliani is Elected Mayor of New York City

Guest Author - Carol Taller

On November 2, 1993 Rudolph William Giuliani was elected the 107th mayor of New York City. His campaign was focused on change. He encouraged people to imagine their city better; that problems of crime and the economy could be reduced, not eliminated. His goal was to cut the murder rate, improve the job rate, and decrease the tax rate. While he succeeded in his goals, he will be remembered most for his powerful leadership during a terrorist attack.

Giuliani was born in Brooklyn on May 28, 1944. He attended Manhattan College followed by New York University Law School. After law school he served as a Federal District Court Clerk. By 1970 he attained a position as the Assistant United States Attorney in the Southern District of New York. Then Giuliani was named the Chief of Narcotics Unit, followed by a promotion to Executive US Attorney at the Justice Department in Washington DC.

At the age of 31 he was appointed Associate Deputy Attorney General. He returned to New York the following year and became a partner at Patterson, Belknap, Webb and Tyler law firm. Four years later Giuliani was appointed Associate Attorney General, and in 1983 he was named the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York. He earned a reputation for his conviction rate and became nationally known.

In 1989 he ran for Mayor of the city of New York and was defeated by a narrow margin to David Dinkins. Four years later he ran against Dinkins again and was elected the 107th mayor of New York City.

In office, Giuliani initiated a zero tolerance policy towards crime. His first year in office the city had a 44 percent drop in overall crime and a 61 percent drop in murder. He reduced the city’s commercial rent tax and hotel occupancy tax and eliminated the unincorporated business tax. This helped the city’s overall economy; hotel and tourism thrived and private sector jobs were increased.

Giuliani was elected to a second term in office in 1997. He will be remembered for his masterful handling of the World Trade Center attack and his ability to calm a city in panic.

After leaving his term in office he founded “Giuliani Partners”, a firm specializing in security and crisis preparedness.